Avatar: The Legend of Keyx Book 2: Fire
by ssj5goku5
Summary: After defending the Northern Water Tribe, Keyx and his friends must travel to Goblin territory to close the portal and return the Fire Nation back to it's former glories. However Keyx's Firebending training won't be as easy as he thought and there will be more obstacles to overcome if he is to follow his destiny and save the world from Daichi and the Elves.


** Chapter One: The Western Air Temple.**

The crisp northern air chilled my face as I looked over the ocean. It had been two weeks of sailing already and we hadn't hit land yet. I was standing on the front edge of the boat just staring off into space thinking about how well my Firebending training was going. Nya had been able to teach me a few basic moves while we've been sailing and I was getting them down pretty quick.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked over to see Korra smiling at me. "Hey there Keyx. How's things going?"

"Oh pretty good. Since we left the Northern Water Tribe I've just been feeling kind of off. Like what do we do now? I know Avatar Korra told me to go after the Goblins in their homeland but what if they get hostile?"

"Well then we fight them like we do the Elves. We can't dwell on that right now though, we have more important business to attend to." She turned around and pointed over to Cyra who was using her Waterbending to scare Chi. She would throw the water at him and his catlike instincts would kick in and he would run from the water. It seemed like a good laugh but dangerous because if Chi really wanted to he would have Cyra flicked off of the boat faster than she could blink.

I walked over and gave her a death stare. "Cyra leave Chi alone. He's just a sad old cat remember?"

"Hey, I'm not old!" Chi scuffed at me.

I laughed and Cyra gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Keyx, I won't do it again." She still looked sad.

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Chi and beg him not to use Earthbending to fling you off this ship." I laughed and hugged Cyra as she turned to apologize to Chi.

It seemed I was the only one who could control Cyra when she was messing around, she wouldn't listen to the others, only me. It was odd but I accepted it and kept her out of complete trouble.

Nya walked up and looked at me, her red eyes shining. I smiled and she smiled back. "Looks like your hair is changing to brown and white Keyx." She laughed and pointed up at my hair.

I fussed around and pulled some frost out of my hair, it was too dang cold up here but the weather was supposed to get better here soon. Chi had decided the best course was to sail straight towards Goblin territory which was where the old Fire Nation used to be. We had just skimmed by it on our way up towards Republic City but now we were heading right into it.

I sat down and looked around, it was around dinner time so I was making sure everyone was here. Korra was brushing out her long red hair, Chi was licking his paws and rubbing them on his ears, Nya was getting out dishes for dinner and Cyra was bouncing on her butt like usual. That accounted for everyone so I said "Well let's go over the plan again, shall we?"

"Keyx do we have to do this every night?" Korra complained.

"Yes, just to make sure no one forgets anything. Okay so first it's off to the heart of the Goblin territory to speak with the leader. If they need us to do anything we listen and do as told. Is that correct Chi?"

"Yes and I was hoping you would bring up this again because there is one thing I should mention." Chi said while still rubbing his ear.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well if we don't dock soon and get supplies we could be looking at a long trip without food. I hear though that they have made quite a small hamlet out of the old Western Air Temple, it would be worth dropping by. We are about two days east of it. How about it Keyx? Aang even visited the Western Air Temple while on his travels, might have some connection to you."

"Wait, who is this they?"

"Oh you will see. I have heard many things about the Western Air Temple, you will enjoy it Keyx." Chi seemed to be smiling.

I nodded my head and looked over towards Nya who had begun to make dinner. She provided us with pitiful looking sandwiches but no one complained. It seemed Chi was right, we barely had even scraps left over. I ate mine, giving Chi a few bites as he went from plate to plate as normal. Seemed ever the same as usual, even though we just fended off a large Elven attack only a mere two weeks ago.

The next two evenings went by easily and I slept like a baby. My dreams were plagued only by the scenes Avatar Korra had shown me, as they had been since my talk with my past self. The second morning I awoke to good news.

"Land ahead!" yelled out Cyra. She was bouncing about and pointing off into the distance. I pulled myself up and sure enough the horizon was filled with a landmass, growing ever larger the closer we got to it.

"It's beautiful." I noted. "Not to mention the fact that we finally got out of the cold weather."

"Oh you're just a little whiner Keyx." Chi said, hopping up onto the side of the boat. "Now keep your eyes open, we will be spotted soon enough."

"Spotted by what?" Korra asked.

Chi just laughed as the boat grew ever closer to land. It only took a few minutes to know what Chi was talking about. We had barely got to where we could see the features of the grass when someone landed in the middle of our ship, twirling a cane around and I felt the air pull around me.

"Halt this boat!" the man said. I felt a large lurch and the boat came to a stop. He stood up to full height and I noticed what he was wearing, a long brown cloak with a built on hood pulled over what I thought was a bald head.

"Ikimari, long time no see." Chi said.

The man looked around then his eyes fell upon our demon cat. "Chi! Had I known this was your vessel I would not have commandeered it like I did!" he walked over and embraced the cat, well that is to say picked him up and snuggled him.

"No need to worry, just let me down." Chi responded. Everyone else stood with a stunned look on their faces.

"So is this your crew?" Ikimari looked around at us.

"I am not the leader of this boat, Keyx is and this is his group of friends." Chi used his tail to point at me.

Ikimari looked at me with a stunned expression. He then took his hood off and I could see his features for the first time. Deep blue eyes down in hollow eye sockets, cheek bones that were as noticeable as ones from a starving child, and a long arrow tattoo on his head. He got on his knees and bowed to me, "_Oi christo_, welcome home, Avatar."

"Uh, thank you?" I mumbled. I was shocked that a grown man was at his knees in front of me. "You can stand up you know." I said.

"It is only respectful to bow before the Avatar. Many great stories of Aang and Korra's adventures were passed down the generations. Nobody alive today saw any of them but I know of many benders who spoke great stories that were passed down in their family of the Avatar's kindness and generosity. I hope you are the same as those before you, Keyx was your name?"

"Yes, but I don't really know yours."

"Ikimari, leader of the Air Nomads. We follow the teachings of you, or that is to say your past life Aang." He finally stood back up and looked around. "_Bini ochinawa Mariesto." _

"What was that?" I asked but my question was virtually answered as the boat began to move again.

"The Air Nomads have developed a sort of language that we use to communicate with each other and the other benders who live with us. By saying _'Bini ochinawa' _I was telling Mariesto to let go of the boat. He is the master Waterbender of the village." He turned around as we finally came to port. "And here we are, the entrance to the new and improved Western Air Temple." He smiled and waved us off our boat. "_Bonivari de christo."_

"Um English please." Korra said.

"You're welcome to come on in." Ikimari said with a smile.

Without any more argument we followed. I held to the back of the group with Korra. She was looking around at the sights, leading up the hill were merchants and venders, selling all sorts of goods. The road was packed with people, all shopping and talking to their hearts content, it was as if the war never existed here.

"Do you think we should trust them?" I asked Korra.

"I see no reason not to right now, this Ikimari fellow is being nice, and seems to be a friend of Chi's. So I'm inclined to trust him just because of that."

"Good point. I guess I shouldn't worry too much if he indeed knows Chi. Just last time we thought someone was good they turned on us."

She gave me a hardened look that wasn't what I was used to from her. "You need not remind me of that."

Guilt washed over me so I hugged her and sped up a little, worried she would be angry with me for bringing up the events on Kyoshi Island. I caught up with Chi and Ikimari. "… for bringing in the Elves. Of course it's only natural for them to want that…" Ikimari was saying before he noticed me. "Ah hello Keyx!" he put his arm around me. "Enjoying your first taste of the Western Air Temple? There is so much more to be seen." He raised his arm up towards the sky. "Can you fly yet?"

I shuffled uncomfortably, "Well no, I'm just barely into my Firebending training."

"Ah, so your journey has been a lot like young Aang's journey was then?" I nodded my head. "Well then you will need a teacher from here, the Air Nomads live here and are not allowed to leave. For if they did we surely would be wiped out, and the great Tenzin wouldn't want his great great great grandchildren just wiped out like that."

We finally came to the crest of the hill where a town of great grandeur was built. I looked around with my eyes wide and my mouth hung open. "Wow, this place is amazing. Much more beautiful than that of the Royal City."

Everyone was looking around with the same face I wore. Everyone except Chi and Ikimari that is. "Go ahead and go visit the town, just don't go past the gates. The canyon is off limits to anyone except the Air Guard. Chi and I have a lot to discuss before you leave for Goblin territory." Ikimari said. He and Chi walked off and disappeared into the crowd. I looked over at Korra, Nya, and Cyra who were looking around at the shops.

"We need another guy in the group, that way I can have more than Chi to relate too, it's sad that I relate to a cat." I joked.

"Yeah, you are pretty sad aren't you?" Nya laughed.

"Yeah yeah, well where to girls?"

They all said different things, Nya said the restaurant across the street, Cyra said the canyon, and Korra said the docks. "Whoa calm down." I said to cut them off. "Nya we haven't got any money, Cyra we were told not to do that, and Korra you have the only good idea except we just came from there."

"So where do you want to go fire breath?" Nya said.

I looked up to the palace situated on an incline. "I think we should investigate to the best of our ability. How about the palace?"

"Come on Keyx, do you really not trust these people?" Korra asked.

"It's just odd how many benders are here, more than what was at Kyoshi Island, what was supposed to be the heart of the surviving benders. I just wanna find out why. So is anyone coming with me?"

"Oh, oh, pick me, pick me!" Cyra said, bouncing up and down with her hand in the air.

"Okay Cyra, you can come, just calm down a bit."

"Of course I'll come with you, I just don't see any reason to not trust these people." Korra said.

"Now now, I want to go to a tavern or something, scope out the place, that would help you Keyx, and I think a little girl time would be nice, so why don't you leave the two love birds alone and come join me Korra?" Nya said.

"Sounds good to me." Korra agreed and they left.

"Love birds…" I put my head down. "When did babysitting become my job?" I said to myself.

"I heard that!" Cyra yelled. She hit my arm and gave me an angry look. "I don't need babysat! I am the student of the great Dano!" she kept punching my arm and I laughed.

"Okay, okay. You don't need babysat." I giggled a little more as she stopped hitting me. "But you do need to calm down as we get up this hill okay?"

"Yes sir!" she put her hand to her forehead and marched forward.

"And this is why I say babysitting." I muttered under my breath as I followed her.

All the way up the palace I saw no signs of Airbenders. Just ground stuck men, women, and children. It kept raising suspicion in my eyes but I didn't question it fully until we got to the palace. Two people with spears were guarding the entrance to the staircase leading upwards. "Halt!" they both said as Cyra and I got closer. "Entrance to see the king is not permitted to civilians. Leave now."

We turned around and walked away without a word to them. We stopped a little ways down the hill, out of their sight so that we could talk. "What do you think Cyra?" I said.

"Something's off, just has to be. Maybe we can find a way in."

"Now you're starting to think like a true member of the squad, so where's the access point then?" I was simply trying to test her to see if she noticed what I noticed on the way down.

She looked around and smiled. "There's two shipments of what seems to be berries going into the side of the building. If we either commandeer one shipment or sneak inside the barrels I'm sure we can find our way inside the palace."

I nodded my approval. She really was a good asset to the team. We quickly made our way up, keeping off the main road and making sure our target was always in sight. The berry shipment made one stop on their way up and that was our chance. The guy pushing the cart stopped to use the bathroom in a nearby bush. So we ambushed him, Cyra flinging water up and freezing him solid and me creating a small chamber in the ground where we put him to defrost. I smiled at Cyra.

"We make a decent team." I said, picking up his badge. It had a fire emblem on it making my mind whirl even more. I pinned it to my shirt and made my way up the hill, making sure not to go by the guards we went by earlier.

We made it safely up the hill and to the side of the building where more guards had just let the first shipment by. We walked up to them and they held out their hands. "Halt, let me make sure this is the proper shipment." The first guard said. He pulled open the barrels and the only thing that ran through my head was I'm glad we didn't hide in them. After checking all the barrels he let us pass. We walked into a grand hall filled with boxes of past shipments. A guard was standing there and when he saw us he pointed down the hall. "Berries go to the kitchen, first door on your right then follow the passage back out to the courtyard. Do not go anywhere else."

We nodded in agreement and made our way to the kitchen. It was bustling with cooks and deliveries all trying to make a meal of some sort. The guy who was counting shipments collected our barrels. "Good, that's the last shipment of berries."

"What's going on here?" I asked.

"You're a delivery man and you don't even know what the event is for? Why it's the master's coronation of course. But it's only open to a select few. Now run along, we have many preparations to attend to." And with that he showed us the way to leave.

We followed the passageway until we came to a spot where we could hide in an opening. "Cyra something is definitely wrong here, we have to find out what it is."

"I agree, but how?"

"The king's chamber, we will find our answers there."

She nodded in agreement and we made our way out, looking for a way into the main part of the palace. A small corridor led off to the right but the door to the courtyard was clearly to our left. "I say we head right." I said.

Cyra was already on her way that direction when I started to speak so I just followed. The first few minutes were silent, nothing but our breathing for company. We knew if we talked we could be found at any moment. The time went slowly by until I noticed footsteps in the corridor next to us. We were about to connect with it so I stopped and pulled Cyra aside into a small cubbyhole again. Male voices rang out as the footsteps came around the corner and headed our way.

"…their leader is still out there. Plus I heard rumors of the Avatars return to the Western Air Temple."

"And where did you hear that?"

"The pub just south of here. I heard it last night. Some sort of future seer I guess. I don't know what they are called, but they claimed to know of the Avatars return. I questioned them and only got talk of dreams and omens. Bah I say, if that was true then there would be no need for the future, everyone would already know what was to happen." The man laughed.

The footsteps faded and we emerged from our hiding spot. "Weird, someone foresaw us coming. And who is this leader they were talking about?" I thought out loud.

"Could be anyone." Cyra said as she started up the corridor again. I nodded and followed, eager to get to the king's chambers. It was a few more minutes before we came to a set of doors clad with the Airbending seals. None of them locked the doors but simply added decoration to the place. I gulped and pushed open the door, not so eager to see what was behind it.

I started to have second thoughts as the door opened but nothing was behind it. Nothing except for a large throne and banners bearing the same Airbending symbols.

"Well that was anticlimactic." Cyra said, bounding forward into the chamber.

"Slow down and be quiet, just because it looks empty doesn't mean it is." I said, following her.

As we got closer to the throne I got a bad feeling in my stomach, "Cyra we should leave." I said.

"But we just got here." She turned around with a smile but it quickly faded and I turned around to see why but as I got a glimpse of our attacker my body went numb. I heard Cyra tense up and knew she got hit with the magic too.

"Well we can't have the great and powerful Avatar leaving our company so soon, now can we?" The man said.


End file.
